A Message from David & Cam
Another Wonderful Term!
We have come to the end of Term 3 and what an incredibly busy term it has been. In the last two weeks alone we have had three camps, two excursions and an incursion!
Term 3 has also seen substantial growth in our students from an academic and social perspective. Our students continue to work hard, take ownership of their learning, along with displaying our KEFAR values on a consistent basis.
We have recently had some teachers from other schools, as well as a senior person from the Department of Education, visit us to observe our Early Years Literacy Program and they were all unanimous in their praise of the students in relation to their respectful nature and adherence to the structures and routines of their classroom. Our visitors also commented on the exceptional level of instruction provided by our teachers.
We would like to express our thanks and gratitude to our whole school community for another fantastic term. We always feel so fortunate to be part of such a positive and supportive environment that works together to support our students - THANK YOU!!
Father's & Special Person's Day
We recently celebrated Father's Day and welcomed our fathers and other special visitors into our school to spend some quality time with their child/ren. These days are a highlight in our school and are extremely important to our school community. Our fantastic volunteers organised the day and we are extremely grateful for all that they do to provide memorable days such as this. A huge thank you to everyone who helped organise the day and the happy faces from our students, dads & special people makes all of the hard work worthwhile. The afternoon session was lovely and we managed to observe a range of activities from parents vs students basketball, to axe-throwing(!), amongst other engaging activities.
Camps
Grade 2 - Angahook
Our Grade 2 students had the best time at Camp Angahook earlier this week and were blessed with glorious weather. The teachers and camp staff have commented on how great our kids have been and how they have all been encouraging, persistent, resilient, and courageous. The students have participated in activities such as archery, damper making, hut building, and likely the highlight for many, the giant swing! Thank you to all the staff for planning this special event and for spending time away from your own families so this can go ahead for our kids. Certainly a memory-making experience for our students!
Year 4 - Camp Allambee
Our Year 4 students are currently enjoying the stunning scenery at Camp Allambee. Despite some initial nervousness at being away from home, all students settled into their cabins quickly and soon acclimatised to the camp environment. It has been a joy to see so many students conquering their fears on the giant swing and flying fox, challenging themselves on billy cart hill and the vertical climb, and working together to complete the low-ropes course and build sturdy huts out of logs and sticks. We have also enjoyed a night walk spotting wombats and feeding the resident alpaca and sheep. The kids are all having a ball and will be very tired when we return tomorrow afternoon.
Grade 6 - Canberra Camp
Our Grade 6 students spent a week in Canberra and their experiences are best summed up by quotes from some of the students:
'My favourite thing was the Royal Australian Mint. There was a coin wall and a big gallery area to view the history of Australia's currency' - James
'One of my favourite things was going to the Australian Institute of Sport. I loved Sportex but what I loved even more was going to the volleyball courts and seeing elite athletes train! It was awesome!' - Ahana
'My favourite part of camp was the Botanical Gardens because it was so lush and green with different types of flowers and plants. We even saw some kangaroos! It was a great way to connect with nature' - Lily
'The best thing about Canberra was the big slide at Questacon and learning about air pressure' - Kiera
'One of my favourite things was going to the War Memorial and learning about the Unknown Soldier.' - Matilda
'My favourite thing about camp was the High Court of Australia because it was really cool to hear about some of the cases and the Constitution' - Livvy
'My favourite thing from camp is the Royal Australian Mint. We met three robots that helped with the minting of the coins. We learnt how coins are minted and we even got to mint our own coin! Being the first one to touch a coin was an amazing experience!'
Sounds like an amazing trip and we would like to thank the staff for all of their work in preparing for the camp and giving so much of their time to enable the students to experience this amazing camp.
The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the camp the Australian Government is contributing funding to our school of $45 per child under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program. This will be paid directly to school upon completion of the camp and has already been deducted from the total cost of the camp.
Maths Olympiad
This week, our committed group of mathematicians completed their final Maths Olympiad test for the year. The development of effective mathematical strategies throughout the year has been clearly evident and every participant should be very proud of their efforts.
A special shout-out to Anka Zhao who achieved the excellent result of 15/20 for the combined result of the four Olympiad tests. This is a wonderful achievement - well done, Anka! All of our participating students will be formally acknowledged at our end of year assembly and at our Grade 6 Graduation for the Grade 6 participants.
Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey
WE WANT OUR PARENTS / CAREGIVERS / GUARDIANS TO TELL US WHAT THEY THINK!
Our school is conducting the annual Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey offered by the Department of Education and is seeking your feedback. The survey is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behaviour, and student engagement. The survey is optional, but we encourage and appreciate your participation.
Our school will use the survey results to assist in identifying areas for improvement and professional development needs in the school, to target school planning and improvement strategies.
The Parent / Caregiver / Guardian Opinion Survey will be open online until Friday 19 September 2025 (tomorrow!)
The survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the survey period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online survey will be available in English and 10 other languages including Arabic, Greek, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Japanese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
It is a really important data set for us as we plan for further improvements to our school. The survey was completed by a large percentage of parents and carers last year and all of that data was used when planning our Annual Implementation Plan.
Information about this survey was sent via Compass and we encourage as many people as possible to take the time to respond.
Are you leaving AGPS in 2026?
There is a great demand for places at our school and we are required to carefully manage all enrolments to ensure there are enough places for all students who reside within our school zone. To assist us with this, please inform us as soon as possible if you have a prep child starting in 2026 or know of any other students who may be joining us in 2026. Similarly, if your child will no longer be attending AGPS in 2026 please let us know. All this information helps us greatly with planning.
Thank you all for a wonderful fortnight. We hope you all have a fun and exciting holiday period. All the best to those who follow the remaining 4 footy teams (except Collingwood supporters of course!).
Take care,
David and Cam